Mass transit systems are used in many locations around the world to move passengers from place to place in a controlled environment. Examples include, but are not limited to, subways, trams, and trains. Conventional mass transit systems commonly utilize tracks or some similar guiding mechanisms to control the movement of the vehicle between designated stops. Doing so provides for fixed routes in which multiple tracked vehicles, such as trains, may be controlled to provide predictable transportation of people between the various stops in a safe manner. However, these typical mass transit systems require people to travel through the mass transit system without their personal vehicles and according to the schedule dictated by the system. These track-based conventional mass transit systems are completely separate and distinct from environments in which personal and commercial vehicles are used, since automobiles such as cars, buses, and trucks are not configured to interface with and be controlled by the mass transit systems.
Moreover, as alluded to above, because typical mass transit vehicles are directed between designated stops via tracks, these vehicles are limited in their direction of travel and the destinations to which they can travel. As a result, users of conventional mass transit systems are limited to traveling between designated stops at designated times and with only what they can carry on and stow within a mass transit vehicle. In order for a mass transit vehicle to reach a new location, additional tracks and supporting infrastructure need to be installed, which require considerable capital expenditure and may have a negative environmental impact.
There is a need for a transportation system that provides for the convenience and safety advantages that accompany an autonomous centrally-controlled transportation system, with the flexibility and practicality of user-controlled and owned vehicles. It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is presented.